§ 11. Mr. O'HaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the 19 Ogonis currently awaiting trial on the same charges as those faced by Ken Saro Wiwa. [22621]
§ Mr. HanleyOur high commissioner in Lagos has repeatedly made it clear to senior Nigerian Ministers that we expect any further trials to come before properly constituted courts that respect the basic legal rights of the defendant.
§ Mr. O'HaraThe Minister will be aware of the shock and abhorrence felt in the House and throughout the world at the travesty of a trial and the consequent executions of Ken Saro Wiwa and his eight fellow activists last November. The House and the world know that Her Majesty's Government's response to that outrage was verbal, feeble and ineffective—indeed, the order of the day seems to be business as usual. Will the Minister assure the House and the rest of the world that the Government will take stronger and more effective action to dissuade the Nigerian military regime from a similar perversion of the legal process in the case of the Ogoni Nineteen? Will he assure us that that policy will be implemented if there is a repetition of the show trials and executions of Ken Saro Wiwa and his eight compatriots?
§ Mr. HanleyThe hon. Gentleman is right: we are very concerned about reports that a further 19 Ogonis may face the same tribunal that tried Ken Saro Wiwa. The regime must be in no doubt that that would certainly provoke further strong international reaction. As I said earlier, we have made it clear to the Nigerian regime that we expect any further trials to come before properly constituted courts that respect the basic legal rights of the defendant.
For their part, the Nigerian authorities have said that they will make changes to their court procedures. Those changes will not be introduced until some time next year, and that is not good enough. It is essential that there be properly constituted legal procedures in Nigeria. Until that occurs and there is further and more rapid progress towards civilian rule, we shall continue to impose the European Union sanctions and to take the action initiated by the Commonwealth in our determination to persuade Nigeria to reduce its human rights abuses.